Land Rover Defender for Sale / Find or Sell Used Cars Trucks and SUVs in USA

When you think of Queen Elizabeth’s wheels, you probably think of some stately Rolls-Royce or her armored modified Bentley. But in the film The Queen, the vehicle old Liz actually drives herself is a Land Rover Defender when on her family’s Balmoral estate. Despite Charles’ suggestion to get something newer, the Queen is rather insistent about driving her trusty green Defender 110 about — she even diagnoses the damage caused to its undercarriage when she goes too quickly through a stream. I was a mechanic during the war, she says.

Sure this was all in a movie, but if something’s good enough for the Queen, the Defender should be good enough for off-road enthusiast Yanks searching for a rough-and-tumble SUV with decades of Land Rover pedigree.

That pedigree dates back to the original Land Rover Series 1, which was created in 1948 to serve the same general purpose as the U.S. Army’s Jeep. The later Station Wagon body style — typically with the spare tire mounted on the hood — is the one closely associated with any movie featuring an African safari. This body style in two- and four-door form carried on into the 1980s as Series II and Series III.

These Land Rovers were the go-to vehicle for folks hunting water buffalo in Botswana or herding sheep in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Land Rover’s utilitarian off-road SUV became known as the Defender Ninety and Defender One Ten in 1985, with the numbers respectively representing the two- and four-door models’ wheelbases (rounded to the nearest 10). These models were changed to the numerical 90 and 110 from 1991 on and continue to be sold in Great Britain today. (They are also the British Army’s primary troop vehicles, much like the American Humvee.)

Of course, this is the history of the Land Rover Defender in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. Here in the United States, the Defender is a rare beast, having been sold in low numbers for only four years. Airbag requirements ultimately doomed Land Rover’s ability to import the Defender (it didn’t have them), and with so few sold, finding one should take considerable time and effort.

But for those looking for a dedicated off-road SUV fit for a queen, the Defender is certainly worth the effort.

Most Recent Land Rover Defender

The two-door Land Rover Defender 90 was sold for 1994, 1995 and 1997. (Emissions requirements and low sales resulted in no 1996 model.) There were two body styles available. The convertible came with a standard second-row bench seat and a choice of a full soft top (with roll-up side windows), fastback soft top, Bikini half top or no top at all. The hardtop body style debuted in 1995 featuring an aluminum roof with pop-up sunroof, an internal/external safari cage and four center-facing rear seats.

The latter allowed this relatively small vehicle to seat up to six people.

For 1994 and ’95, the Defender 90 was powered by a 3.9-liter V8 that made 182 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque. This engine drove a full-time four-wheel-drive system and was connected only to a five-speed manual transmission. For 1997, Land Rover fitted the Discovery’s 4.0-liter aluminum V8 that yielded 182 hp and 233 lb-ft of torque into the Defender.

Mated only to a four-speed automatic, this engine wasn’t any more powerful than its predecessor, but it had lower emissions, which granted the Defender a brief re-entry into the United States.

Those expecting to find an interior similar to those found in Land Rover’s other products will be greatly disappointed. The Defender represents the definition of bare-bones, with a simplistic dashboard designed in the mid-1980s and a utilitarian cabin fashioned to be more easily vacuumed out after a Serengeti trek. There were also no airbags. (Even to this day, the thoroughly updated Defender sold elsewhere doesn’t have them.) This lack of creature comforts and safety features doesn’t even take into consideration the profuse amount of noise emanating from the road, wind and engine.

The Land Rover Defender 90 does the job it was intended to do well. But beyond tackling off-road trails, however, it is ill-suited for any significant journey involving pavement. Other off-road specialists like the Jeep Wrangler will probably suit your trail needs just as well as the Defender at a lower price, although none boast the Land Rover’s British pedigree.

Past Land Rover Defender Models

In 1993, Land Rover sold 500 units of the four-door Defender 110 in the United States. Featuring a stretched version of the later two-door model’s frame, it featured a wheelbase that surpassed that time’s Range Rover. The 110 came only in a fixed hardtop body style with center-facing rear seats that allowed nine people to sit in all the comfort of a troop transporter. Power came from the 3.9-liter V8 that made 180 hp and 227 lb-ft of torque.

The same praise and criticism levied at the Defender 90 can be directed at the 110 as well, but its extreme rarity should at least make it more of a collector’s item some day.

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Brabus takes on Range Rover Sport with Startech widebody kit

Of all the tuners this side of AMG, none are as close to Mercedes-Benz as Brabus. After all, when Daimler needed a tuner to spruce up the Smart car, it was Brabus that it turned to. But Brabus tunes vehicles other than Mercedes — it just uses, let’s call it, a pen name.

It brands them Startech, like the widebody kit it’s developed for the new Range Rover Sport and will present at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

Jaguar demanding customer data from reluctant dealers

Nearly every major business is collecting consumer data these days, and keeping that data secure has come to the forefront of many customer’s minds. Jaguar Land Rover North America’s decision to begin requesting more customer info from its dealer network appears unfortunately timed, however. If it had come a few years ago, it might have been ignored, but in today’s climate of heightened awareness, a few dealers are pushing back.

To put the showrooms in an even tougher position, JLR NA is threatening to deny quarterly incentives if they do not turn over the customer data, according to Automotive News.

Jaguar appoints Joe Eberhardt as North American President

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:02:00 EST

Jaguar Land Rover North America has appointed a new president, Joachim Eberhardt. The German exec, 50, had previously done stints at Chrysler Group, DaimlerChrysler UK, Mercedes-Benz USA and Daimler-Benz.

Eberhardt joins JLR NA in a good, but challenging time for the company. It’s fresh off the launch of the Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-Type, which have been subject to rave reviews, and its overall sales are up 21 percent over 2012. Still, as Automotive News points out, the two manufacturers face a fight to become the equal of A-list competitors like BMW and Mercedes in the eyes of consumers.

Joe brings a proven industry track record and valuable global leadership experience in luxury sales, service and marketing. We look forward to Joe leading our North American team in working with our retail networks to further grow the business and better serve our customers, JLR’s group sales operations director, Andy Goss, said.

Jaguar-Land Rover builds millionth vehicle at Halewood

Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:01:00 EST

Jaguar-Land Rover is not what you’d call a volume automaker by any stretch of the imagination. But in the dozen years since it started manufacturing at its Halewood plant near Liverpool, England, the automaker has already built its millionth vehicle.

The landmark vehicle is a Range Rover Evoque, done up in white with red roof and mirrors, black wheels and a red and black interior. The crossover is set to be donated to Cancer Research UK, which will auction it off next year to help fund its projects in the north-west of the country.

Halewood started manufacturing the Jaguar X-Type in 2001, then went on to assemble the Land Rover LR2 / Freelander 2 before taking on production of the Evoque a year and a half ago. The facility reached the 300,000-unit milestone just last year as production moved to a 24-hour cycle for the first time in either marque’s history.

Is Jaguar’s 3 Series-fighter the brand’s last chance?

Wed, 16 Oct 2013 10:00:00 EST

The upcoming line of compact 3 Series-fighters from Jaguar, often referred to as the Jaguar XS, could consist of a sedan, wagon and possibly a coupe and GT model (think BMW 5 Series GT). The car’s all-aluminum architecture also will provide the basis for two new sports utility vehicles. Just how important is the much-touted baby Jag project to parent company Jaguar Land Rover?

A JLR executive reportedly says the brand’s survival is directly linked to the success of the XS, codenamed X760, Autocar reports.

The brand’s survival is directly linked to the success of the XS.

European automakers gear up for Brazilian production

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 08:01:00 EST

Brazil is the place to be, apparently. Toyota has been investing in the South American country, as has BMW, which announced a $261 million investment in October 2012, on the heels of an Audi factory announcement in San José Chiapa. The high-end immigration is only set to continue, as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar-Land Rover have both announced plans to set up manufacturing operations there.

Mercedes is the big news here, as its new facility will see the German manufacturer invest 170-million euros for production of its next-generation C-Class and upcoming GLA-Class. Brazil is an important future market. With our local production we accept the challenge and take on the competition, noted Andreas Renschler, Management Board member for Production and Procurement at Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Production is expected to begin by 2016.

Jaguar Land Rover building new RD center for hybrids, EVs, autonomous cars

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 18:01:00 EST

The success of Jaguar Land Rover in recent years has largely been down to a resurgent product lineup, but a recent move into the research and development will see the British-based, Indian-owned brands take the fight to its German rivals more aggressively than ever before.

JLR is investing 50 million pounds ($80,345,000, as of this writing) in a joint RD center in central England. The move will more than triple its staff dedicated to research, from 150 to 500, with Wolfgang Epple, JLR’s Director of Research and Technology telling Automotive News Europe, In order to play among the big animals in automotive and to be anchored in the mind of customers you have to have offered something unique, to be first in market. We want to be one of the key premier automotive manufacturers.

Jaguar Land Rover’s 50-million-pound contribution represents more than half of the 94-million-pound tab, on the so-called National Automotive Innovation Campus. Based at Warwick University, Tata’s European Technical Center, Warwick Manufacturing Group and the Higher Education Funding Council, an agency of the British government, are all chipping in for the facility.

Jaguar crossover won’t be based on Evoque or have off-road chops

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 11:01:00 EST

Jaguar’s long-rumored crossover won’t be built on the same platform as the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, says the Australian site Car Advice. The future of the new CUV remains uncertain, but if Jaguar does dip its toes into the SUV/crossover pool, though, the new vehicle will likely be a car-based soft roader, lacking (or perhaps more appropriately, not needing) the off-road-engineered chops inherent in Land Rover’s small CUV platform.

Jaguar product planner Steven De Ploey explained to Car Advice, There’s many groups around the world [platform sharing] — obviously Volkswagen Group is doing it all the time — but I think we have to be careful. He added, Jaguar is something quite different. It’s about capability, but very much on-road focused capability.

That seems to gel with our suspicions that the XQ, as it’s expected to be called, will share its platform with an upcoming small Jaguar sedan, the oft-rumored X-Type successor.

Still, we’d recommend taking any mention of a Jaguar crossover with a grain of salt. Based on many of the (quite compelling) statements made by De Ploey against a Jag crossover and previous statements made by Jag’s design boss, Ian Callum, the case against a leaper-bearing crossover seems strong. If a high-rider were to arrive from Jaguar, though, the article insinuates that it’d be more in line with the BMW X6 or upcoming X4 — sort of a coupe-based crossover. Like we said, grain of salt. If a Jag crossover is going to arrive soon, the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show is the most likely locale for its debut.

We’ll find out in a few weeks.

Jaguar may join the FWD, small-car parade

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:01:00 EST

Was it right for Chevrolet to detune the 1975 Corvette’s base engine to 165 horsepower? Was Aston Martin wrong to make the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet? Is BMW crazy to be testing the new 1 Series with three-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive?

It seems now, just as in the 1970s and 1980s, that emissions regulations and social considerations are driving some automakers to adopt unbefitting practices to maintain acceptance in the eyes of governments and consumers. Jaguar has jumped on the bandwagon, and is considering development of small, frugal, front-wheel-drive cars to help lower Jaguar Land Rover’s average vehicle CO2 levels in light of tightening European emissions regulations, Autocar reports.

By 2020, the European Union expects the model range of every manufacturer to average 95 grams per kilometer, which is a new law passed by the European Parliament in April. Manufacturers who make more than 300,000 vehicles per year must meet these targets, and JLR is expected to be producing up to 700,000 vehicles per year by then. CO2 regulations after 2020 will only get stricter, as EU politicians already are talking about lowering CO2 levels to between 68 g/km and 78 g/km. (To put that in perspective, Autocar posits that driving a fully charged electric vehicle in Europe produces about 75 g/km when factoring in the power-generation infrastructure.)

Jaguar has some choices here, but so far they all have drawbacks. It could develop a new, compact chassis architecture for a line of compact vehicles, but the investment required for such a project could be prohibitively expensive. Jaguar has been looking into using the Land Rover Evoque platform for a small SUV, Autocar reports, but Land Rover brand manager John Edwards raises issue with such a plan, saying it may not be financially feasible.

Ferrari exec to lead Jaguar North America

Jaguar has announced that Jeff Curry will be serving as the brand’s new North American vice president, effective August 13. The move is a coup for Jag, which lured Curry away from his previous posting as VP of marketing for Ferrari North America, and is further evidence of just how strong Jaguar’s comeback has gotten.

Curry has spent over 20 years in the auto industry, and has worked with Audi, SiriusXM and Land Rover, where he made his start in the industry. His primary responsibilities with Jaguar will cover marketing communications, customer relationship management, and product planning.

Jaguar Land Rover’s North American president, Andy Goss, heaped praise on the brand’s newest addition saying, Jeff brings with him extensive automotive and luxury marketing experience, critical expertise in leading-edge technologies and a personal passion for automobiles.